Degraves Street is a street in Melbourne, Victoria. It is named after Charles and William Degraves, pioneer merchants who settled in Melbourne from Hobart, Tasmania in 1849. William Degraves (1821–1883) was also a large-scale grazier and a member of Victoria's Legislative Council between 1860 and 1874.

It is a short, narrow lane

Lane

A lane is a part of the roadway within a road marked out for use by a single line of vehicles in such a way as to control and guide drivers for the purpose of reducing traffic conflicts. Most public roads have at least two lanes, one for traffic in each direction, separated by Lane markings...

way, running north from Flinders Street

Flinders Street, Melbourne

Flinders Street is a notable street in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. Running roughly parallel to the Yarra River, Flinders Street forms the southern edge of the Hoddle Grid. It is exactly one mile in length and one and half chains in width...

 to Flinders Lane

Flinders Lane, Melbourne

Flinders Lane is a minor street in the central business district of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. The street runs parallel to and to the north of Flinders Street and as a narrow one way lane takes on the name of the wider main street...

 in the central business district of Melbourne.
The cobbled bluestone alley forms a busy alternative thoroughfare for commuters disembarking from Flinders Street Station

Flinders Street Station

Flinders Street Station is the central railway station of the suburban railway network of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. It is on the corner of Flinders and Swanston Streets next to the Yarra River in the heart of the city, stretching from Swanston Street to Queen Street and covering two city...

 toward the shopping areas of The Block on Collins Street

Collins Street, Melbourne

Collins Street is a major street in the Melbourne central business district and runs approximately east to west.It is notable as Melbourne's traditional main street and best known street, is often regarded as Australia's premier street, with some of the country's finest Victorian era buildings.The...

 and Bourke Street Mall, loosely connecting with Centre Place

Centre Place, Melbourne

Centre Place is a busy laneway and arcade in the Melbourne CBD, Australia. It runs between Flinders Lane and Collins Street.The laneway is home to several vibrant bars, cafes, restaurants, boutiques, sushi bars and shops, as well as some of Melbourne's best examples of street art and graffiti,...

, a similar lane just across Flinders Lane. The Degraves underpass was built in the 1950s, one of the few public works at the time, to allow pedestrians to get from Flinders Street Station to Degraves street rather than have to walk across busy Flinders Street. Degraves underpass is also home to Platform Artists Group, and frequently presents new works. Vehicles have only restricted access.

The lane features bars, cafes, and restaurants and many of the taller old buildings have been converted into loft style apartments in the 1990s, adding further life to the street.

Redevelopment of the Mutual Store in 2006 has further enhanced the lane with additional shops.

A vista up Degraves laneway is created by "Majorca House", an ornate 1930s building dressed in faience

Glazed architectural terra-cotta

Glazed architectural terra-cotta is a ceramic masonry building material popular in the United States from the late 19th century until the 1930s, and still one of the most common building materials found in U.S. urban environments...

.